My friend really is a rocket scientist, yet when I mentioned some cars from
my early driving days he knew none of them. One generation apart, a mere 25
years, and cars I grew up with were unknown entities to him. He drives a little
Honda, a Fit, which although tiny, is still bigger than the first Honda cars,
the 600. Bigger than the first Civic, and bigger than the first Accord. His
car history is much different than mine, and the names I mentioned drew a blank
from him. My first car, I shared it with my mother, was a 1966 Rambler Classic
770, top of the line Classic in 1966. A 4 door with their famous 232 inline
six, it was wheels, and I was glad to have it. With the famous reclining front
seats that made into a bed, it may not have had much sex appeal, but once
inside....and with a newly installed under dash 8-track, no more double dates,
or rides from my father. Or hers. But no one cool drove Ramblers, and soon it
was traded in on a Pinto, 1971 version. No one cool drove them either. The
first year, that green that every other Ford car seemed to be painted, 2000cc’s
of muscle, mated to a floor shifted automatic. Four on the floor were the
amount of feet counting my date. Green vinyl everywhere, from seats to dash to
the floor, it could handle 7 high school seniors who cut class to go to the
shore uncomfortably, it was made to seat 4. A trunk nothing fit into, it
finally died years later when the intake manifold vibrated off, causing it to
stall at a stop light. But along the way mag wheels and Wide Oval Firestones
were added, and shifting the auto manually gave the illusion of speed, even if
it was slow. Ford made millions of them, where are they all today?
But when I mentioned the first car I owned, bought with money saved from
summer jobs and my paper route, he knew the name-BMW. Except he had never heard
of the 2002, or its smaller engined brother I had, the 1600. He had owned a
BMW, but never knew of Max Hoffman’s gift to the colonies, the 2002. The car
that made everybody’s best 10 list in the late 60’s, early 70’s. A two door,
four seat sedan, OHC 4 cylinder that handled. It had four on the floor, disc
brakes, and handled. I suckered many a Corvette into corners, only to leave
them behind until they blew by me giving me a salute in the straights. A car
today highly collectible, that my father bought in 1969, not because he liked
cars, but because it was German, and highly rated. Remember he owned Ramblers.
And when I got my license, he sold it to me for $1900, what they offered him in
trade in 1972 against a new 2002, for $4000. I still have his cancelled check.
So my rocket science friend never knew of his car’s legacy, of how there was a
time when BMW stood for British what? Or how the yuppies of today were never so
cool as to own a real BMW, back when they were just another car from Germany.
That sports cars guys drove. He was going to look them up, I hope he does, our
roots are important, knowing where we come from and where we have been can help
guide us to where we are going. Three cars from a generation ago, what will my
kids remember?
Gone since 2000 are such nameplates as Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Plymouth,
Mercury, and Saturn. Joining the likes of Hudson, Kaiser, Packard, Studebaker,
and even Rambler. No more Pintos, Vegas, Gremlins. No more hood pins, racing
stripes, Wide Ovals, or mags. No more setting the timing, replacing plus and
points. No more manual windows, or AM radios. 5% of all cars made have
clutches, and most cannot drive when it is only a point and steer automatic. No
more bias ply tires that smoked so easy, but wobbled us down the road. Drum
brakes a memory. Bench seats, hub caps, and big cubic inch V-8’s-all cars my
kids never knew. But learn about when they visit car shows, and listen to us
old guys share our memories. Try to explain a 4 speed, dual quad, posi-traction
409 to my friend today. Or any kid. No more burning rubber, traction controls
have killed that. From basic transportation 110 years ago, back to it again,
just more modern. But even the first cars were more exciting than a horse...a
car I never knew.
Scripture tells us to take care of widows and orphans. That is true
ministry. Yet so many single moms, widowed or not, are trying to raise families
today. God ordained families of a mother and a father, a man and his wife, both
having responsibilities, but each sharing a burden, equal yet different. Moms
staying home and raising kids, taking care of the home, running it, while the
father goes to work, and earns a salary to support his family. It used to be
that way, sadly so many today don’t know homes like that. With the divorce rate
at 50%, and the fatherless birth rate well over that, these are destroying
society. Sitting down with a family at dinner are things that kids today never
knew. That only exist in our memories, and won’t be found in theirs. Kids
orphaned maybe not at birth, but in society, raising themselves after school,
fixing dinner themselves, missing Father’s Day because they never knew their
father. Many die today orphans of society, yet God has not abandoned them.
Today we can know our heavenly father through Jesus. Fatherless homes and lives
do not need to be Godless homes and lives, Jesus changes all that. He cared for
the widows and orphans, reuniting us with his father. You see we were once all
orphaned from heaven, separated by sin. Cast out of the Garden, with only laws
to guide us. Jesus changed all that, adding love, fulfilling the laws in one
action. For 2000 years bringing sinful orphans back into the family of God,
bringing into his family. Brothers and sisters of different parents, but with
only one God, one Father, and one spirit. We are told to come to Christ as
little children, to a God we didn’t know. And Jesus is the way, the way back,
the maker of families, the reuniter of lost souls. The connection to a living
God, who sought us out, when we weren’t looking for him.
Many today are looking for something to build a family, to heal wounds, to
just get through another day. Programs, processes, and promotions don’t make
it. Just another band aid on an open wound. They are looking for something,
when really it is the someone of Jesus Christ. A real person, not a policy.
Not a set of rules, but true love. Forgiveness, grace, mercy, and joy. Who
cannot use a little,or a lot more of those? So while we go to old car shows to
remember, we need to maybe take a kid along. Be a father figure, and guide
them. Evangelizing takes place outside the church, and lost souls are found at
drag strips, car shows, and cruise ins. Share a night with a lost kid, or
adult, make a friend, and let them see the love of Jesus in your life.
Introduce them to a man they never knew, but whose name they use in vain. Make
them feel wanted, part of a family, and soon sharing Jesus verbally is simple.
They hear your words, because your audio matches your visual. They will see
Jesus in your life, what better example of love can you show?
What will your kids share with their friends about cars? Motorcycles?
Jesus? Today is right now everyday, and we have a chance to change tomorrow.
Don’t let your family, friends, or relatives become orphans till death do they
part. Jesus saves, racers, bikers, inmates, guards, mothers and father, kids,
and all who still have breath. Even a rocket scientist who never saw a Rambler,
never heard of a 2002. But he knows Jesus, and where he is going. The gospel,
so simple even a rocket scientist can get it. And guys in cars, and on bikes.
Simple so we can get it, free so we can afford it. Don’t let the years pass
without knowing Jesus. There were millions of Pintos made, where are they
today? There was only one Jesus....where he is in your life makes all the
difference. Don’t let him be somebody your kids never knew. God sent Jesus,
where are you with him today?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com